As is known, incontinence pads of the above-mentioned type have a substantially rectangular shape and include two sheets, one impermeable, the other absorbent, between which a section of padding is interposed, the padding made of absorbent material having a predetermined thickness.
At the outline of the incontinence pad, the two superposed sheets define a perimetric edge with a predetermined width.
The two longitudinal sides of the edge, at their central zone, have an elasticised segment.
As is known, machines for packaging incontinence pads of the above-mentioned type include a unit which folds them, about two fold lines which are transversal to their longitudinal axis, into three parts, respectively forming a front portion, a central portion and a rear portion of the incontinence pad.
Incontinence pads folded in this way into three superposed portions are then inserted individually or in groups in a wrapper by a further unit of the packaging machine.
It is also known that incontinence pads should have an anatomical shape.
That means that when the packaging of each incontinence pads is opened, the incontinence pads adopts a “V”- or “L”-shaped partly bent configuration, in which the front and rear portions, on the inner face side formed by the absorbent sheet, are facing each other in a position in which they are near and not coplanar, and in which the edges at only the elasticised central portion are folded towards each other, also on the side forming the inner face.
Said anatomical shape is difficult to obtain using the prior art folding units.
Consequently, at the moment of opening, the incontinence pad is substantially flat, or in any case is not positioned in an anatomically satisfactory way, but rather has unwanted fold lines.